Method and system for determining place for appointment using navigation system

ABSTRACT

A navigation terminal for calculating a route or a route information server sets multiple proposed locations for an appointment according to various conditions or options provided by a user for the determination of an appropriate location for the appointment between multiple parties. The navigation terminal or the route information server calculates an optimal route to each proposed location from each party&#39;s origin and extracts an optimum level of each calculated route to finally determine the most appropriate location for the appointment. The navigation terminal or the route information server automatically sets a location most appropriate and convenient to all parties of appointment, thereby enhancing convenience and effective time management.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to an application entitled “Method andSystem for Determining Place for Appointment Using Navigation System”filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on May 30, 2005 andassigned Serial No. 2005-045647, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a navigation system, and moreparticularly to a method and system for determining an appropriatelocation for an appointment using a navigation system.

2. Description of the Related Art

When two or more people at different origins determine a location tomeet, they generally tend to consider either a midpoint between theorigins or a location known to all as the best location. After making anappointment to meet at approximately the midpoint, they may obtain routeinformation to reach the destination using a navigation system. However,arbitrarily determined locations for appointment are not always the mostconvenient or best locations at which to meet. In certain cases, it maybe inconvenient and take a longer time for either party to reach thedestination due to such reasons as a longer travel distance and a lackof accessible public transportation. Therefore, an improved method todetermine an appropriate location for an appointment is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve theabove-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object ofthe present invention is to provide a method and a system forautomatically determining a location for an appointment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method andsystem for determining the most appropriate location for an appointment,thereby enhancing convenience and effective time management.

In order to accomplish the above objects of the present invention, thereis provided a method for determining a location for an appointment usinga navigation system, which includes inputting appointment place settingoptions corresponding to two or more parties of the appointment, settinga plurality of proposed locations according to the inputted options,calculating an optimal route to each proposed location from an origin ofeach party according to the appointment location option corresponding tothe party, determining how each optimal route complies with theappointment location option corresponding to each party to extract anoptimum level of each calculated optimal route, and extracting optimumlevels of optimal routes to each proposed location and comparing all theextracted optimum levels to determine a final location for theappointment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a navigation terminal according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of a navigation terminalaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a navigation system according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing messages sent and received in anavigation system according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a display of route information according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a view showing routes to multiple proposed locations accordingto the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description is provided to assist in a comprehensiveunderstanding of various preferred embodiments of the present inventiondisclosed with reference to the accompanying figures. Accordingly, thoseof ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes andmodifications of the preferred embodiments described herein can be madewithout departing from the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.Descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted forthe sake of clarity and conciseness.

According to the present invention, a navigation terminal or a routeinformation server sets multiple proposed places according to variousconditions provided by a user to determine a location for an appointmentbetween multiple parties, calculates an optimal route to each proposedlocation from each party's origin, and extracts an optimum level of eachcalculated route to determine the most appropriate location for theappointment.

FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of a navigation terminal 100 accordingto the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the navigationterminal 100 includes a sensor 80, a communication module 20, a displayunit 30, a route calculator 40, a location options unit 50, a schedulemanagement unit 60, a data input unit 10 and a memory 70.

As a means for measuring the current position of the navigation terminal100, the sensor 80 includes a GPS sensor and a DR (Dead Reckoning)sensor. The GPS sensor receives GPS signals and detects positioninformation (geometric coordinates x, y and z) and current timeinformation t of a moving object, e.g. a car. The DR sensor detects itsown relative position and moving direction based on previous positioninformation. The DR sensor detects the velocity v and the steering angleθ of a car. The sensor 80 calculates the current position of the carbased on the position information x, y, z and time information tobtained through the GPS sensor and the velocity v and steering angle θobtained through the DR sensor.

The communication module 20 performs communication with anothernavigation terminal in a mobile communication network, and receivestraffic information or map information from a route information server.

Under the control of the route calculator 40, location options unit 50or schedule management unit 60, the display unit 30 displays informationreceived from the mobile communication network, calculated routeinformation or an image stored in the memory 70.

The data input unit 10 can be a keypad or a touch pad for providing aninterface between a user and a navigation system. The user can input astarting point, destination or intermediate point and select a specifictravel route or an option through the data input unit 10. Then, the datainput unit 10 outputs a corresponding input signal and selection signalto the route calculator 10. The data input unit 10 also outputsappointment place setting options to the location options unit 50.

The route calculator 40 calculates a route from a starting point to adestination using an entire route option applied to the entire travelroute between the origin and the destination and a subregion routeoption applied to a specific subregion in the travel route.

The schedule management unit 60 updates and manages schedules inputtedby the user, and provides schedule information to remind the user of theinputted schedules at every date and time specified.

The location options unit 50 controls the operation of the routecalculator 40 in order to set multiple proposed locations according tovarious options inputted through the data input unit 10 for thedetermination of an appropriate location for an appointment. Thelocation options unit 50 calculates an optimal route to each proposedplace from each party's origin, extracts an optimum level of eachcalculated optimal route and determines the most appropriate locationfor the appointment. The optimum level refers to a value showing howeach calculated optimal route complies with the appointment locationoptions previously inputted by the user.

The memory 70 includes a map information database 71 and a trafficinformation database 73. The map information database 71 stores map datashowing roads, buildings and points of interest and information aboutaccessible public transportation. The traffic information database 73stores roadway traffic information. The map information and the trafficinformation are received from a route information center and updated inreal-time. The memory 70 stores programs necessary to control theoperation of the navigation terminal 100, reference data, variousupdateable data and routes calculated by the route calculator 40. Thememory 70 serves as a working memory for the route calculator 40 and thelocation options unit 50. In addition, the memory 70 stores programsrelated to an appointment place setting menu.

In the navigation terminal 100, the location options unit 50 operatesand functions as shown in FIG. 2. Proposed places to meet for anappointment and optimal routes to the respective proposed places from alocation of each party of the appointment are depicted in FIG. 6.Referring to FIG. 2, when a user selects a menu for setting a place foran appointment through the data input unit 10, the location options unit50 sets an appointment place setting mode in the navigation terminal100. The location options unit 50 displays submenus of the appointmentplace setting menu so that the user can input information necessary toset a location for an appointment, such as the number of parties thatwill attend the appointment and appointment location optionscorresponding to the respective parties.

The parties of the appointment are those who make an appointment to meettogether. The number of parties also refers to the number of differentorigins of the parties. The appointment place setting options areinputted in a number corresponding to the number of parties. Forexample, to determine a place for the appointment among three parties,three options are inputted.

The appointment place setting options include a starting point option, ameans of travel option and a place selection option. The starting pointoption is for setting a starting point of travel for each party. Inother words, three different starting points can be set for threeparties of appointment. The means of travel option is for setting ameans of travel or transportation to be used by each party to reach theplace for the appointment. For example, the means of travel can be acar, bus, subway, foot, bicycle or motorcycle. The place selectionoption is for setting a factor primarily considered when calculating aparticular route. The place selection option includes a distancepreference, a travel time preference, a place preference, a mostappropriate place preference, an appointment place limitation and aweight setting.

The distance preference is an option for giving preference to theshortest distance to determine a place for an appointment. If thedistance preference is set, the location options unit 50 will controlthe route calculator 40 to calculate a shortest-distance route to aplace of an appointment.

The travel time preference is an option for giving preference to theshortest travel time to determine a place for an appointment. If thetravel time preference is set, the location options unit 50 will controlthe route calculator 40 to calculate a route to a place for anappointment which can be reached in the shortest time.

The place preference is an option for giving preference to a specificcategory of places to determine a place for an appointment. Such aspecific category of places can be theaters, restaurants, amusementparks, squares, subway stations or shopping malls.

The most appropriate place preference is an option for determining themost appropriate place for an appointment in consideration of allfactors (e.g., distance, travel time and place).

The appointment region limitation is an option to limit a place for anappointment to a specific region.

The weight setting is an option to give a weight to a specific factor,thereby influencing determination of a place to meet for an appointment.The weight setting includes a weight-to-place setting and aweight-to-person setting. The weight-to-place setting is for determiningwhether a frequently used place of appointment is included in theproposed places for an appointment and to give more weight to thefrequently used place. The weight-to-person setting is for givingrelatively more weight to a specific one of the multiple parties ofappointment. In other words, when the weight-to-person is set, moreweight is given to the appointment place setting option corresponding toa specific party so that a place convenient for the specific party canbe finally set as the destination for the appointment.

One or more of the above sub-options (distance preference, travel timepreference, place preference, most appropriate place preference,appointment place limitation and weight setting) included in the placeselection option are selectively set according to the user's request.Referring to FIG. 6, when three people make an appointment to meet at atheater, the number of parties is set to three, and three differentstarting point setting options are set for the respective parties.First, three starting points are set for the three parties, e.g.cathedral for the first party, subway station for the second party andbuilding for the third party. Second, first to third means of travel(for example, car, subway and foot) are set for each party. Third, theplace selection option is set for each party. For example, the distancepreference, travel time preference and place preference can be set forthe first, second and third parties, respectively. It is possible to settheaters as a preferred category of places. According to the user'sselection, an appointment region limitation can be set to limit a placefor an appointment to a specific region. It is also possible to set aweight to a certain factor.

Referring back to FIG. 2, when appointment place setting optionscorresponding to n parties of the appointment are inputted in step 101,the location options unit 50 proceeds to step 103 in order to selectmultiple (m) proposed places for the appointment in compliance with theappointment place setting options through the route calculator 40. Instep 105, the location options unit 50 controls the route calculator 40to calculate an optimal route to each proposed place according to theappointment place setting options corresponding to the n parties andstores the calculated optimal route. For example, referring to FIG. 6,the place setting unit 50 selects three theaters a, b and c located in aspecific region as proposed places for the appointment according to theappointment place setting options, and calculates an optimal route toeach theater according to the appointment place setting option set foreach party of the appointment. For the first party, optimalshortest-distance routes to get to the three theaters a, b and c by carfrom the cathedral will be calculated. For the second party, optimalroutes to get to theaters a, b and c by subway from the subway stationin the shortest time will be calculated. For the third party, optimalshortest-distance routes to get to theaters a, b and c on foot from thebuilding will be calculated.

When the optimal routes to the proposed places for the appointment fromthe different starting points are calculated, the location options unit50 proceeds to step 107 in order to obtain an optimum level of eachcalculated optimal route. The optimum level is a value showing how eachcalculated optimal route complies with the appointment place settingoption previously set for each party. For example, among the optimalroutes to theaters a, b and c from the location (starting point) of thefirst party or the third party, the shortest-distance route has thehighest optimum level. Also, among the optimal routes to theaters a, band c from the location (starting point) of the second party, the routehaving the shortest travel time has the highest optimum level.

In step 109, the location options unit 50 extracts optimum levels of theproposed places for the appointment based on the optimum levels obtainedfor the optimal routes, and compares the extracted optimum levels tofinally determine the most appropriate place for the appointment. To bespecific, the location options unit 50 extracts an optimum level of eachproposed place by combining the optimum levels of the optimal routes foreach party to get to the proposed places, and sets the place having thehighest optimum level as the most appropriate place for the appointment.The process of extracting the optimum level of each proposed place iscarried out to set a place convenient to all parties as the place tomeet for the appointment. Referring to FIG. 6, optimum levels oftheaters a, b and c are extracted and compared with each another inorder to finally set one theater convenient to all the parties as theplace to meet for the appointment. A weight setting can be used todetermine the place for the appointment. For example, a weight-to-placecan be set to give weight to frequently used places. If a frequentlyused place is included in the proposed places for the appointment, thenweight will be given to the optimum level of the frequently used place,thereby influencing the final determination of the place for theappointment. If a weight-to-person is set, then weight will be given tothe optimum levels of the optimal routes calculated for a specificparty, which will also influence the final determination of the placefor the appointment.

In step 111, the location options unit 50 offers optimal routeinformation calculated in step 105 in relation to the place ofappointment finally determined in step 109. In step 113, the locationoptions unit 50 detects whether the user inputs a request to send. Upondetecting the request, the location options unit 50 proceeds to step115. If the request is not inputted, the location options unit 50 willthen proceed to step 117. In step 115, the location options unit 50sends information on the final location for the appointment and relatedroute information to each party, and proceeds to step 117. If steps of101 through 113 were performed in a navigation terminal of the firstparty, the navigation terminal of the first party will send the placeinformation and the route information to the other (second and third)parties' respective navigation terminals upon the request inputted bythe first party. At this time, it is possible to send such informationto all the parties of appointment or only to a specific party accordingto the first party user's selection.

In step 117, the location options unit 50 determines whether the userinputs a request for registration of the above information in a schedulemanagement program. If the request is inputted, the location optionsunit 50 will proceed to step 119. Otherwise, the location options unit50 will terminate the appointment location process. In step 119, thelocation options unit 50 controls the schedule management unit 60 toregister the determined location for the appointment and the calculatedoptimal route on a date of appointment in the schedule managementprogram, and terminates the process. When the date of appointment isreached, the location options unit 50 alerts the user of the appointmentand displays the information on the location to meet for the appointmentand the related route information on the display unit 30. The display ofthe information is illustrated in FIG. 5, in which a first displayscreen 1 shows route information, and a second display screen 3 showsschedule information.

In the above description, a navigation terminal 100 capable ofdetermining a location for an appointment and providing related routeinformation according to the present invention has been explained.According to another embodiment of the present invention, a navigationsystem can be configured. In the navigation system, a communicationterminal can request a route information providing server to set alocation for an appointment. Upon receiving the request, the server setsthe most appropriate location for the appointment through steps similarto those explained above.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a navigation system according to thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the navigation system includes a communicationterminal 200, a wireless communication network 300 and a routeinformation server 400.

The communication terminal 200 can communicate with the routeinformation server 400 through access to the wireless communicationnetwork 300. The communication terminal 200 stores basic map datanecessary to display route information and has a route calculationfunction. The communication terminal 200 can implement a menu forinputting information necessary to determine a location for anappointment, that is, a menu for setting the number of parties that willattend the appointment and appointment location options corresponding tothe respective parties.

The route information server 400 is connected to the wirelesscommunication network 300. The server 400 includes a communicationmodule 410, a location options unit 420, a route calculator 430, atraffic information collector 440 and a database 450. The communicationmodule 410 performs communication with the wireless communicationnetwork and enables communication with another communication terminal.

The route calculator 430 calculates a route from an origin to adestination using all route options applied to the travel route betweenthe origin and the destination and a subregion route option applied to aspecific subregion in the travel route.

The location options unit 420 controls the operation of the routecalculator 430 in order to set multiple proposed locations according tovarious options inputted from the communication terminal 200 to set anappropriate location for an appointment. The location options unit 420calculates an optimal route to each proposed location from the origin ofeach party, extracts an optimum level of each calculated optimal routeand finally determines the most appropriate location for theappointment.

The traffic information collector 440 collects real-time trafficinformation from outside sources and stores the collected trafficinformation in the database 450.

The database 450 includes a map information database 451 and a trafficinformation database 453. The map information database 451 stores mapdata showing roads, buildings and points of interest and informationabout accessible public transportation means. The traffic informationdatabase 453 stores roadway traffic information. The traffic informationis updated by the traffic information collector 440.

When the route information server 400 receives information on the numberof parties of appointment and appointment location options correspondingto the respective parties from the communication terminal 200, it setsthe most appropriate location for the appointment through steps similarto those performed in the navigation terminal 100. In other words, theroute information server 400 sets multiple proposed places, calculatesan optimal route to each proposed location from each party's origin,extracts an optimum level of each calculated route to determine a finallocation for the appointment, and sends information on the finallocation for the appointment to the communication terminal 200. Thesesteps for determining a place to meet for an appointment are depicted inFIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, when a user inputs the number (n) of parties ofappointment and appointment location options corresponding to therespective parties, the communication terminal 200 proceeds to step 403in order to send the inputted information to the route informationserver 400 and request to set the most appropriate location for theappointment.

Upon receiving the information on the number of parties and theappointment location options from the communication terminal 200, theroute information server 400 proceeds to step 405. In step 405, theroute information server 400 sets multiple (m) proposed locations forthe appointment according to the received appointment location options.In step 407, the route information server 400 calculates an optimalroute to each proposed location from each party's location according tothe appointment location option corresponding to the party. In step 409,the route information server 400 extracts an optimum level of eachcalculated optimal route. In step 411, the route information server 400extracts optimum levels of all the proposed locations based on theoptimum levels obtained for the optimal routes from origins of therespective parties, and compares the extracted optimum levels to finallyset the location having the highest optimum level as the mostappropriate location for the appointment. In step 413, the routeinformation server 400 sends information on the determined location forthe appointment and related route information to each party. In otherwords, the communication terminal 200 receives the location informationand the route information from the route information server 400. At thistime, route information server 400 can send the location information andthe route information to all the parties of appointment or only to aspecific party according to the request from the communication terminal200.

Upon receiving the place information and the route information from theroute information server 400 in step 413, the communication terminal 200proceeds to step 417 in order to register the received information on adate of appointment in the schedule management program, and terminatesthe appointment location process.

As explained above, a navigation terminal capable of calculating a routeor a route information server sets multiple proposed locations for anappointment according to various conditions or options provided by auser for the determination of an appropriate location for theappointment between multiple parties. The navigation terminal or theroute information server calculates an optimal route to each proposedlocation from each party's location and extracts an optimum level ofeach calculated route to finally determine the most appropriate locationfor the appointment. The navigation terminal or the route informationserver automatically sets a location most appropriate and convenient toall parties of appointment, thereby enhancing convenience and effectivetime management.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes inform and detail may be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method for determining a location for an appointment using anavigation system, comprising the steps of: inputting appointmentlocation options corresponding to at least two parties for anappointment; setting a plurality of proposed locations according to theinputted options; calculating an optimal route to each proposed locationfrom an origin of each party according to the appointment locationoption corresponding to each party; determining how each optimal routecomplies with the appointment location option corresponding to eachparty to extract an optimum level of each optimal route; and extractingthe optimum levels of the optimal routes to each proposed location andcomparing all the extracted optimum levels to determine a final locationfor the appointment.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising sending, to each party, information on the final location forthe appointment and an optimal route calculated in relation to the finallocation.
 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingregistering the final location for the appointment in a schedulemanagement program of a corresponding date of appointment according to auser's request.
 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingregistering the final location for the appointment and the final optimalroute in a schedule management program of a corresponding date ofappointment according to a user's request.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein said appointment location options are used to determinethe final location and calculate the proposed locations and are set to anumber corresponding to an amount of the parties.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said appointment location options includean origin option, a means of travel option and location selectionoptions for each party.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein saidmeans of travel option defines a means of travel that will be used byeach party and includes a car, bus, subway, walking and bicycle.
 8. Themethod according to claim 6, wherein said location selection optionsinclude a distance preference, a travel time preference, a placepreference, a most appropriate place preference, an appointment placelimitation and a weight setting.
 9. The method according to claim 8,wherein said distance preference is an option to give preference to theshortest distance and calculate a shortest-distance route to eachproposed location for the appointment.
 10. The method according to claim8, wherein said travel time preference is an option to give preferenceto a shortest travel time and calculate a route to each proposedlocation for the appointment which can be reached in the shortest traveltime.
 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein said place preferenceis an option to give preference to a specific category of locations todetermine a location for the appointment.
 12. The method according toclaim 11, wherein said specific category of locations includes theaters,restaurants, amusement parks, squares, subway stations and shoppingmalls.
 13. The method according to claim 8, wherein said mostappropriate place preference is an option to determine the mostappropriate place to meet in consideration of factors includingdistance, travel time and place.
 14. The method according to claim 8,wherein said appointment region limitation is an option to limit alocation for the appointment to a specific region.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 8, wherein said weight setting is an option to givemore weight to a selected factor as compared to the other factors in thelocation selection options.
 16. The method according to claim 15,wherein said weight setting includes a weight-to-place setting fordetermining whether a frequently used location of appointment isincluded in the proposed locations for the appointment and for givingmore weight to the frequently used place as compared to the proposedlocations.
 17. The method according to claim 15, wherein said weightsetting includes a weight-to-person setting for giving more weight to aselected one of the parties for the appointment and to the appointmentlocation option corresponding to the selected party so that a convenientlocation for the specific party can be set as the final location for theappointment.
 18. The method according to claim 8, wherein said locationselection option is set by selectively setting at least one of thedistance preference, travel time preference, location preference, mostappropriate location preference, appointment location limitation andweight setting included in the location selection option according to auser's request.
 19. A navigation terminal in a navigation system,comprising: a route calculator for calculating a route from an origin toa destination using a route option applied to an entire travel routebetween the origin and the destination and a subregion route optionapplied to a selected subregion in the travel route; and a locationsetting unit for controlling the operation of the route calculator toset a plurality of proposed locations according to appointment locationoptions inputted by a user for two or more parties for an appointment,calculate an optimal route to each proposed location from each party'sorigin, extract an optimum level of each calculated optimal routeshowing how each optimal route complies with the appointment locationoptions, extract optimum levels of optimal routes to each location, andcompare all the extracted optimum levels to determine a final locationfor the appointment.
 20. The navigation terminal according to claim 19,further comprising a schedule management unit for registering the finallocation for the appointment and an optimal route to the final locationin a schedule management program of a corresponding date of appointmentaccording to the user's request.
 21. The navigation terminal accordingto claim 19, wherein said place setting unit sends information on thefinal location for the appointment and an optimal route to the finallocation to each party.
 22. A method for determining a location for anappointment using a navigation system, which comprises the steps of:inputting appointment location options corresponding to at least twoparties for an appointment in a communication terminal and sending theinput options from the communication terminal; setting a plurality ofproposed locations in a route information server according to theappointment location options from the communication terminal;calculating an optimal route to each proposed location from an origin ofeach party in the route information server according to the appointmentlocation option corresponding to each party; determining how eachoptimal route complies with the appointment location optioncorresponding to each party to extract an optimum level of each optimalroute in the route information server; extracting the optimum levels ofthe optimal routes to each proposed location and comparing all theextracted optimum levels in the route information server to determine afinal location for the appointment; and sending information on the finallocation for the appointment and an optimal route calculated in relationto the final location to each party from the route information server.23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising registering thefinal location for the appointment and the optimal route to the finallocation in a schedule management program of a corresponding date ofappointment according to a user's request.
 24. A navigation system forsetting a location for an appointment, comprising: a communicationterminal for inputting appointment location options corresponding atleast two parties for an appointment, sending the inputted options andreceiving information on a final location for the appointment and anoptimal route for each party to reach the location; and a routeinformation server for setting a plurality of proposed locationsaccording to the appointment location options received from thecommunication terminal, calculating an optimal route to each proposedlocation from each party's origin, extracting an optimum level of eachcalculated optimal route showing how each optimal route complies withthe appointment location options, extracting optimum levels of optimalroutes to each proposed location, comparing all the extracted optimumlevels to determine a final location for the appointment, and sendinginformation on the final location for the appointment and a calculatedoptimal route to the final location to each party.
 25. The systemaccording to claim 24, wherein said communication terminal receives theinformation on the final location for the appointment and the calculatedoptimal route to the final location from the route information serverand registers the received information in a schedule management programof a corresponding date of appointment according to a user's request.